3. 外交 Vol. 16 138
潜水艦隊 潜水艦隊 Fleet Submarine Force Submarine Fleet
大湊地方隊 大湊海軍区 Ominato District Ominato Naval District
護衛艦(DD) 駆逐艦(DD)
フリゲート艦
(FF)
destroyer (DD) destroyer (DD)
frigate (FF)
護衛艦(DDG) ミサイル搭載駆逐
艦(DDG)
destroyer (DDG) destroyer, guided missile-
equipped (DDG)
護衛艦(DDH) ヘリコプター搭載
駆逐艦(DDH)
destroyer (DDH) destroyer, helicopter-equipped
(DDH)
護衛艦
(16/18/22DDH)
ヘリコプター空母
(CVH)
destroyer (equipped with
helicopters) (16/18/22DDH)
helicopter carrier (CVH)
航空幕僚長 空軍参謀長 Chief of Staff, ASDF Chief of Air Force Staff
航空幕僚監部 空軍参謀部 Air Staff Office Air Force Staff Office
航空総隊司令官 航空作戦司令官 Commander, Air Defense
Command
Commander, Air Operations
Command
航空総隊司令部 航空作戦司令部 Air Defense Command
Headquarters
Air Operations Command
Headquarters
航空総隊 航空作戦軍 Air Defense Command Air Operations Command
北部航空方面隊 北部航空方面軍 Northern Air Defense Force Northern Air Force
北部航空方面隊
司令部
北部航空方面軍司
令部
Northern Air Defense Force
Headquarters
Northern Air Force Head-
quarters
将(幕僚長の階
級)
大将 General (GSDF, ASDF),
Admiral (MSDF)
General (JA, JAF),
Admiral (JN)
将(幕僚長以外
の階級)
中将 General (GSDF, ASDF),
Admiral (MSDF)
Lieutenant General (JA, JAF),
Vice Admiral (JN)
将補の(一) 少将 Major General (GSDF,
ASDF), Rear Admiral
(MSDF)
Major General (JA, JAF),
Rear Admiral (JN)
将補の(二)
〔 1 佐の(一)〕
准将 Major General (GSDF,
ASDF), Rear Admiral
(MSDF)
Brigadier General (JA, JAF),
Commodore (JN)
1 佐の(二)
1 佐の(三)
大佐 Colonel (GSDF, ASDF),
Captain (MSDF)
Colonel (JA, JAF),
Captain (JN)
1 尉 大尉 Captain (GSDF, ASDF),
Lieutenant (MSDF)
Captain (JA, JAF),
Lieutenant (JN)
提言 名称変更
139 自衛隊の組織・装備の名称変更案
表 1 自衛隊の現行名称と新名称案
現行名称 新名称案 現行英語名称 新英語名称案
自衛隊 防衛軍 Self-Defense Force (SDF) Japanese Defense Force (JDF)
自衛官 軍人 members of the SDF military personnel;
members of the military
陸上自衛隊 陸軍 Ground Self-Defense Force
(GSDF)
Japanese Army (JA)
海上自衛隊 海軍 Maritime Self-Defense Force
(MSDF)
Japanese Navy (JN)
航空自衛隊 空軍 Air Self-Defense Force
(ASDF)
Japanese Air Force (JAF)
統合幕僚長 統合参謀長 Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Chief of Joint Staff
統合幕僚監部 統合参謀部 Joint Staff Office Joint Staff Office
陸上幕僚長 陸軍参謀長 Chief of Staff, GSDF Chief of Army Staff
陸上幕僚監部 陸軍参謀部 Ground Staff Office Army Staff Office
―――
陸軍作戦司令官
―――
Commander, Army Opera-
tions Command
――― 陸軍作戦司令部 ――― Army Operations Command
北部方面隊 北部方面軍 Northern Army Northern Army
北部方面総監 北部方面軍司令官 Commanding General of the
Northern Army
Commander, Northern Army
北部方面総監部 北部方面軍司令部 Northern Army Headquar-
ters
Northern Army Headquar-
ters
中央即応集団 特別即応集団 Central Readiness Force Special Rapid Response
Force
普通科 歩兵科 infantry infantry
特科 砲兵科 artillery artillery
施設科 工兵科 engineer engineer
海上幕僚長 海軍参謀長 Chief of Staff, MSDF Chief of Naval Staff
海上幕僚監部 海軍参謀部 Maritime Staff Office Naval Staff Office
自衛艦隊司令官 海軍作戦司令官 Commander in Chief of the
Self-Defense Fleet
Commander, Naval Opera-
tions Command
自衛艦隊司令部 海軍作戦司令部 Self-Defense Fleet Head-
quarters
Naval Operations Command
自衛艦隊 機動艦隊 Self-Defense Fleet Mobile Operations Fleet
護衛艦隊 水上艦隊 Fleet Escort Force Surface Combatant Fleet
護衛隊群 駆逐戦隊 Escort Flotilla Destroyer Squadron
航空集団 海軍航空隊 Fleet Air Force Naval Aviation
5. 外交 Vol. 16 142
Renaming the Self-Defense Force
for Better Civilian Control and Transparency
Narushige Michishita
Associate Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Since the end of the Second World War, the Japanese government has treated the na-
tion s armed forces as if they are not actually military forces. Based on idiosyncratic
reading of its constitution, while Japan technically cannot possess army, navy, and air
force, it can possess some special quasi-military force designed solely for the purpose of
self-defense, which it decided to call the Self-Defense Force (SDF). In addition, in order
to maintain the internal logic of the fiction, the government continues to use idiosyn-
cratic names (in Japanese) for the SDF s organizations and equipment. For example, in-
fantry units are called ordinary units, artillery units are called special units, and en-
gineer units are called facility units. In the Maritime Self-Defense Force, a cover
name for what is effectively the Japanese navy, a 2,950-ton Hatsuyuki -class combatant
and a 13,950-ton Hyuga -class combatant are identically called escort ships. However,
this kind of linguistic trickery has failed to deceive professional eyes. As a result, the
, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies
based in London, has categorized the 13,950-ton vessel as an aircraft carrier equipped
with helicopters (CVH).
With 240,000 men and women under arms and the sixth largest defense expendi-
ture in the world, presenting the SDF as a non-military organization is unhealthy at
best and deceptive at worst. This Japanese practice is particularly problematic in two
ways. First, it undermines effective civilian control in Japan. In order to maintain effec-
tive civilian control, the Japanese people must be able to understand what kind of mili-
tary capabilities their country has or does not have. However, not many Japanese citi-
zens know the fact that the ordinary units are in fact infantry units and that their
country actually possesses helicopter carriers.
Second, the use of misleading names undermines transparency of Japanese defense
policy. Foreign students I teach sometimes ask me how Japan can characterize the
SDF as something short of military force, their eyes filled with suspicion. Late last year,
Chinese Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan noted that Japan had constructed a light aircraft carrier
but called it helicopter-equipped escort ship, and criticized that Japan was engaged in
military buildup in a secretive manner. He might have made these remarks with an ul-
terior motive, but his remarks were not entirely off the mark. (By the way, foreign ob-
servers are actually in a better position to understand the reality of Japan s defense
force than the Japanese people. This is because when translated into English, some of
the idiosyncratic names become normalized. For example, what are called ordinary
units in Japanese have been translated as infantry units, and what is called an escort
ship in Japanese is translated as destroyer. This might sound pathetic, but this is
what we do).
In this context, I would suggest that the Japanese government rename or normalize
the names of the SDF as well as some of its organizations and equipment in order to
make civilian control in this country more effective and enhance transparency of
Japan s defense capabilities and policy.